


wanting to cry, i pretend;

by captainisabela



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, M/M, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-17 23:13:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29600178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/captainisabela/pseuds/captainisabela
Summary: "Even in the comfort of his own dorm, Sicheng was still polite and soft-spoken. It was a trait that Ten absolutely adored about him. His softness contrasts with Ten's boldness so wonderfully, and it's a shame that Sicheng hasn't quite noticed that yet. Sicheng holds Ten tightly to his chest, and Ten feels so warm and safe and adored. He could stay like this forever, and he wouldn't mind. Eternity in Sicheng's arms sounded like heaven on earth."ora tenwin a whisker away au
Relationships: Dong Si Cheng | WinWin/Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten
Comments: 13
Kudos: 33
Collections: Challenge #5 — I heard a secret..





	wanting to cry, i pretend;

**Author's Note:**

> hi :3  
> hi !!!! thank u for taking the time to read this !!! this is inspired by a movie that I rly love a lot n so when the movie option of the poll didn't win I was so disappointed dksjfld but then I remembered . the movie is entirely based around a secret so here this is :3
> 
> the idea of this entirely got away from me so I had to change it into something I didn't plan for but it still came out okay I think, and id like to thank zara for being such a huge help in that !!!! <3 i think I might write another au of this that will be much longer and delve way deeper, but for now, pls enjoy this treat :>
> 
> title comes from the literal translation of the movie !!

“I hope he’s here today.” Ten sighs, plopping his books onto his desk. Kun leans against his own desk, placed in front of Ten’s. “It was so boring without him yesterday.” He frowns, stretching across his desk until his back pops. It’s afternoon, and the sun streaming through the window warms them.

“I was with you all day, though,” Kun replies bluntly, more so annoyed than hurt — at this point, he was used to Ten’s obsessive crush, and he knew that Ten appreciated him more than he let on. Ten shrugs, eyes glued to the classroom door.

“He’s more fun to tease! You can see that he wants to fight back so bad. There’s a fire in his eyes that you don’t have.” In Ten’s own eyes swims a kittenish mirth, playful but with sharp claws that can scratch at a moment’s notice. Ten is dangerous, but that is what makes him so addicting. Except… to one person.

Dong Sicheng.

When he walks in, Ten’s eyes light up in a way that only Sicheng can provoke, the view of a challenge exciting Ten to his core. Whereas the entire student body is infatuated with Ten, he won’t even look at him. This has Ten roped in like a hook to his cheek, struggling endlessly to come closer when the string turns to a metal rod to keep him away.

Kun sighs at the way that Ten perks up. He says hello to Sicheng loudly, even though his friend Yukhei is chattering into his ear. “Shouldn’t you have given up by now. It’s been nearly a year, Ten. He’s not gonna talk to you.” Kun tells him the truth because he is a good friend and he is tired of holding Ten when Sicheng rejects him time and time again. 

“I cannot just give up on the love of my life, Kun. I _know_ that he can love me, too. It just… takes time. Don’t worry! I’m working on it.” Ten smiles like he knows something that Kun doesn’t. Instead of explaining, Ten gets up and walks a row over to drape himself over the back of Sicheng’s chair. He whispers something into Sicheng’s ear, grinning, and Sicheng gives him a small smile and doesn’t brush him off this time, which is an improvement from last week. Sicheng’s friend shoves Ten off of him and laughs, but instead of being angry, Ten giggles with him.

Kun doesn’t know how he does it — Ten simply has no shame. Time and time again, Sicheng’s friend (and sometimes Sicheng himself) humiliates Ten, yet he just… doesn’t care. And Kun knows that isn’t entirely true, Ten isn’t made of steel, as much as he tries to be, and he gets hurt sometimes. But, Ten handles it far better than Kun thinks he ever could.

When their teacher comes in to start class, Ten returns to his seat, satisfied and flushed with joy. Just a small, one-sided interaction has Ten on cloud nine.

Kun wishes life were as simple as that.

***

When the last bell rings, Ten rushes to pack up. It’s a new development, but Kun has already gotten used to it now. Ten told him that he’s joined a club recently, and he’s really excited for it. It’s a lie, but it seems to satisfy him, glad that _something_ besides Sicheng is bringing happiness to Ten’s life. 

How far that was from the truth.

They walk together to the stairs, where they will split off. Kun’s club doesn’t meet today, so he will go up a level to cross the bridge connecting the school and dorms. Ten will stay on this level for his club meeting. They wave each other goodbye, and then Ten waits at the stairs until Kun goes up, and even several minutes later to make sure that Kun is across the bridge, so that there will be no chances that Kun will see him outside. When Ten deems it safe, he goes down one flight, then the next, until he’s on the bottom floor. There’s no point in using the front exit, since he’s simply going to stay on campus, so he goes to one of the side exits, at the garden. 

It’s gorgeous outside, warm and sunny, and the garden’s blooming in full. There are benches and tables in the middle, surrounded by all kinds of plants that the botany students take care of. None of this matters to Ten. All he needs is a quiet place.

The garden is normally busy, but there’s a spot that Ten likes to go to, that he thinks nobody else knows about. It’s tucked away behind the greenhouse, far enough from the tables and full of foliage. Ten tosses his backpack into the brush and crawls in. There’s enough that Ten is completely covered when he sits, making room to unzip his backpack and dig through it. He grins in success when he finds it, yanking it out of his bag without zipping it back up.

In Ten’s hands sits a mask in the shape of a cat.

The mask is tan in colour and darkens towards the nose, mimicking the fur pattern of a siamese cat. When Ten places it on his face, it only covers down to his nose, revealing his human mouth, but that will not matter in a moment. Ten crouches, holding the mask to his face, and somersaults through the brush.

In a poof of pink dust, he rolls out as a tiny siamese kitten.

Ten quite likes being a cat. It feels as if he’s in his element, almost, lithe and agile as a human and even more so with his mask on. People like him more, sometimes. They don’t know that it’s Ten, but they like him as a cat. They think he’s soft and cute and they give him attention, and that is all Ten ever wants in life. Sicheng likes him more like this, too, and that is what matters the most to Ten. Each time that Ten visits his dorm, Sicheng smiles and laughs and holds him, and his other cat might hate him, but Ten doesn’t care. The more that he is in Sicheng’s life as a cat, the less it seems that he wants to take his kitty mask off.

Girls coo at him as he runs past the picnic tables but he pays them no mind -- normally he’ll indulge in them because he enjoys it too, but he’s a man on a mission. Sicheng will be leaving for his club activities until late tonight, and Ten wants to visit him before then. 

When Ten visits Sicheng, it is always the absolute highlight of Ten’s day. There, in his tiny dorm, Ten holds the fondest memories of them together. Perhaps he isn’t human in them, and maybe Sicheng doesn’t know that the stray he sees every afternoon is Ten, but that’s alright. When Sicheng shows him so much love like this, Ten doesn’t even care.

He could be a cat forever.

Seconds after that thought, Ten’s fur stands on end and suddenly there is a shadow looming above him. He hisses, jumping away from the huge figure. Immediately, Ten knows who it is.

The mask seller.

When Ten bought his mask, he bought it from a gigantic cat, who takes any moment he can find to convince Ten to trade his human face to be a cat instead. 

“Tennie,” the huge figure bounds up to him from where it had appeared from pink dust behind a bush. It was invisible to the students around them, only threatening Ten's kitten form. "Are you ready to give me your face? I already have a sweet kitten who desires it," the mask seller's voice is smooth and sinister, sending chills down Ten's spine.

"I'll never give you my face," Ten hisses, backing away when the mask seller's shadow seems to get larger. "You don't deserve to have a face as gorgeous as mine." The mask seller laughs darkly, leaning its large body over Ten's small kitten form.

"Are you sure? Is that why you're wishing that you never had to put it back on? I can see it peeling off of you, kitty. Your time will come. Soon, you will be a little kitty forever." The mask seller stares at him for a moment and then retreats back into the bushes that he came from in another poof of pink dust. A part of Ten wishes that he'd never interacted with the mask seller, but if he hadn't, Ten wouldn't be on his way to Sicheng's dorm right now.

Yes, _Sicheng_. He is the only thing that matters to Ten anymore -- if losing his human face means that Sicheng can love Ten forever, then perhaps Ten will take the mask seller up on his offer. Ten doesn't have much other use for his life, anyway.

***

Ten arrives at Sicheng's second-story window faster than usual. Still on edge from the appearance of the mask seller, Ten ran as fast as his kitten legs could go in search of the comfort Sicheng could give him. When Ten gets there, the window is closed, but he can see Sicheng sitting at his desk, computer to one side and notebook to the other. Sometimes Ten feels guilty for often interrupting Sicheng when he is trying to study, but he doesn't seem to mind so neither does Ten -- the attention he gets makes it worth it all, he thinks. 

Sicheng treats Ten's cat form in a way that Ten has never been treated before and the euphoria Ten gains from it is addicting in the best way imaginable. Ten feels like he's losing himself but it's alright. In a few moments Sicheng is going to be holding him close to his chest, warm with adoration. Ten couldn't care less about anything. It takes a minute or so before Sicheng notices Ten pawing at the window and Ten feels so satisfied at the way that Sicheng rushes to open it. He lets Ten jump through before shutting the glass again, trapping them in their own little bubble.

Ten was on top of the world.

"Ah, Louis," Sicheng coos, lifting Ten off of the papers on his desk to pull him to his chest. Of course, Sicheng doesn't know that the cat is Ten, and gave him a new name. That's fine. If Sicheng wants Ten to be Louis, then Ten will be Louis. "I was hoping you would come before I went to my club meetings."

Even in the comfort of his own dorm, Sicheng was still polite and soft-spoken. It was a trait that Ten absolutely adored about him. His softness contrasts with Ten's boldness so wonderfully, and it's a shame that Sicheng hasn't quite noticed that yet. Sicheng holds Ten tightly to his chest, and Ten feels so warm and safe and adored. He could stay like this forever, and he wouldn't mind. Eternity in Sicheng's arms sounded like heaven on earth.

Sicheng doesn't even have to pet him for Ten to begin to purr, happy enough to just be held. He kisses Ten on the head and Ten can feel his cheeks heat, but he knows that it won't show the same way it would on a human -- Ten likes that he doesn't have to hide his true emotions in this form. Like this, Ten can just... exist. Bask in the shine of Sicheng’s caring voice, gentle hold, soft skin. He’s so in love!

Only a moment later does Sicheng begin to pet Ten, scratching behind his ears and under his chin just right. If Ten were human right now, it would send shivers down his spine. As a cat, he only purrs more, butt lifting higher and tail swishing with contentment. “So pretty, Louis.” Sicheng murmurs, squeezing Ten to his chest, and his heart feels so full. “Don’t tell Leon I said this, but you’re the best kitty.” He kisses Ten’s head again, once, twice, three times. “Love you so much.” Ten nuzzles against Sicheng’s cheek as hard as he can, as meaningful as possible. He wants to say it back so bad, wants Sicheng to _mean it_ like Ten wants him to.

Ten wants Sicheng to love _him_ , not Louis.

But maybe that won’t be an issue if Ten abandons his human face. Without his human face, Ten is not Ten anymore, but Louis. If Sicheng loves Louis, and Ten becomes Louis, then Sicheng will in turn love Ten.

Something clatters to the ground, and Ten ignores it. He already knows what it is. The dark shadow that looms from outside Sicheng’s window doesn’t scare Ten anymore.

When it comes in to take Ten’s human face, he doesn’t hiss or run. He’s just fine right in Sicheng’s arms.

**Author's Note:**

> wahhh okay thank u for reading so much !!!! thank u again zara for being a great beta and thank u to all the mods and writers for making this fest possible !!! you all do a ton of work for this and I super appreciate it ♥
> 
> if you like, you can find me on twitter [+here](https://twitter.com/sweetsanggyun)


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